The Secret of Life

An eight-year old boy approached an old man sitting in a garden, looked up into his eyes, and said,
“I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.”
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied,
“I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words:
“The first is THINK. Think about the values by which you wish to live your life.”
“The second is BELIEVE. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values by which you’re going to live your life.”
“The third is DREAM. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values by which you’re going to live your life.”
“The last is DARE. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”And with that, Walt E. Disney said to the boy, “Think, Believe, Dream and Dare.”
“The secret of life” is locked up in a safe with a four-step lock. The keys to that lock are:
‘Think,’ ‘Believe,’ ‘Dream’ and ‘Dare’. “Dream is not what you see in sleep, but what does not allow you to sleep.” (Abdul Kalam, Former President of India)

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An eight-year old boy approached an old man sitting in a garden, looked up into his eyes, and said,
“I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.”
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied,
“I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words:
“The first is THINK. Think about the values by which you wish to live your life.”
“The second is BELIEVE. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values by which you’re going to live your life.”
“The third is DREAM. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values by which you’re going to live your life.”
“The last is DARE. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”And with that, Walt E. Disney said to the boy, “Think, Believe, Dream and Dare.”
“The secret of life” is locked up in a safe with a four-step lock. The keys to that lock are:
‘Think,’ ‘Believe,’ ‘Dream’ and ‘Dare’. “Dream is not what you see in sleep, but what does not allow you to sleep.” (Abdul Kalam, Former President of India)

‘Now let me share with you, my son, the 16 principles of Enlightened Governance’ the Baba began their next Guruvar Satsangh.‘First of all let us understand the term ‘Enlightened Governance’. Enlightened Governance in simple terms is effective governance which will ensure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all citizens of the country. These are the Constitutional values enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. This is only possible through a value-based approach without any fear or favour. This will also demand that the nation should have enlightened leaders with strength of character and courage of conviction. That is why we also need to improve the quality and caliber of our MPs and MLAs…….‘Enlightened Governance within ENP, according to me, will have to be based on the following principles. I will only enumerate them. You have to study them carefully later on. Use the library. There are many books on Good Governance, Effective Governance etc.’ the Baba said.
He then enumerated the following 16 principles of Enlightened Governance:
1.‘Let the heavens fall, justice must be done’
2.‘Surety of punishment is a greater deterrent of crimes than the severity of punishment’.
3.‘Justice delayed is justice denied’.
4.‘Corruption and rape are crimes against God and humanity and should carry severe punishments’.
5.‘Smaller the state, better it can be administered, and more citizen-friendly it can become’. 6. ‘Good governance cannot be a substitute for self-governance’.
7.‘Providing quality education to all youth and developing technically qualified human resources constitute the two most important tasks in a nation-building mission’.
8.‘Ministers and Government officials are meant to serve the citizens, not to rule over them’. 9. ‘Duties, not rights, will make a nation great’.
10.‘Farmers and school teachers are to be respected and rewarded as the most important nation-builders’.
11.‘Government is not an employment agency, but a law enforcing authority’.
12.‘In a democracy public servants and political parties are subject to the law and accountable to the public’.
13.‘Mother India’s future is in the hands of mothers in India’.
14.‘Youth are the hope and the most precious wealth of the nation’.
15.‘Democracy does not imply collective responsibility, but individual responsibility based on collective decision-making by consensus or consent’.
16.‘The character and caliber of the leader will influence the character and caliber of the cadre’.After enumerating the 16 principles, the Baba said: ‘These 16 principles of Enlightened Governance are also only indicative. One can add more or delete some. Effective and corruption-free governance whereby the Constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are upheld at all times and at all places should be our goal. This is also the most important function of the Government within ENP’.The Baba looked at Atma Prakash questioningly.‘Yes guruji. I will study them carefully.’ Atma Prakash replied.‘Now let us come to the fourth pillar of ENP: the minimum parameters for our MPs and MLAs’, the Baba continued.“Yatha Guru, Thatha Shisya; Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja; Yatha Neta, Thatha Chela” says an old Indian dictum . It means ‘the disciples will be like the guru; the subjects will be like the king; the followers will be like the leader’….‘The leadership is the most important element in any nation-building mission. Enlightened leaders are required to build a great new India. The first thing for us to do if India is to have enlightened leadership is to improve the quality and caliber of our MPs and MLAs…..

In fact, death is such a difficult thing to deal with because it leaves a void. That person is no longer here – he is not going to be seen in the future, all the way down to ‘eternity’. You are not going to see that same person in the same form. That is very disconcerting. All the way to the end; of time you are not going to see that person in that form again. It’s a void we cannot handle. Though that person is gone, the position of my being a son or daughter or spouse remains. That doesn’t go away. Even if he is your ex-husband, still, you are stuck being an ex-wife. That position doesn’t go away. Since the position remains, when the person because of whom you got that position is not there, naturally, all the omissions and commissions will rush to your head. As long as the person was there, you could settle accounts with him or her. Now, that person is not there to settle accounts with anymore. And therefore, your own omissions and commissions come to the surface. “Why did I do this?” “Why did I not do this?” It is called the affliction that comes after the fact and it is unavoidable. Here we ask, why I did not do the right thing, why I did do the wrong thing. This is what really makes a person sad. That sadness is deep because you cannot do anything about it – you are facing a void. Ultimately, that sadness is because you cannot accept a void.
Void is not acceptable because there is no void at all. There is no such thing as a void, as total non-existence. Even at the absence of a thing, or its non-existence, you are conscious of. That I don’t have a pot in my hand, that I have no horns on my head you are conscious of. When you appreciate that, the appreciation implies the presence of you, the presence of an existent conscious being. Therefore, total decimation doesn’t exist at all. Total absence, does not exist. Certain combinations, like a man with horns, also do not exist. A man exists, a horn exists, but the horn of a man does not exist. The man is there, and you are appreciative of the man at a given time, but at the same time, you are also appreciative of the fact that his horn does not exist. Similarly, in my hand there is no pot. My hand exists and the pot exists elsewhere, but on my palm, there is no pot. That absence implies presence, the presence of you, naturally.
No human being, self-conscious human being, can visualize and accept a future decimation. Therefore, there is a love to be. That love to be, YËgÕavalkya says, is because you love yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then why would you love to be? If you hated yourself, you would not love to be. But you do love to be. The love for son, wealth, etc., is all for the sake of the self. Wealth includes home, vehicle, etc., including the contents of the home, like your carpet, your Persian carpet. People have a great value for all these things.
I remember when I once went to meet a swami who was staying in a particular house in Madras. The house was facing east and had two floors, a ground floor and a first floor, or as you say in America, the second floor, where the swami was staying in one room. And there was a covered area where I and another person were waiting to meet the swami. He was in his room and we were waiting, sitting on a carpet—a nice carpet, perhaps a Persian carpet. As we were sitting, one of the employees of the house came and asked us to get up and sit on the chairs. We sat on the chairs. And he rolled up the carpet. I thought that he was taking it to be used for a better purpose, perhaps. But then, he rolled up the carpet and kept it there, right in our presence, in one corner and left. That’s a very interesting thing to me; so naturally, I was not going to keep quiet. The next time he came to where we were sitting, I asked him, “Why did you do this? Why did you just roll up this carpet and keep it in the corner?” He said, “Amma [the lady of the house] is down in the kitchen and asked me to please roll up the carpet and keep it in the corner.” I asked him, “Why?” “Because, now it’s eleven o’clock in the morning, and the sunlight will come and fall on it.” Remember we were in a covered but open area with no window, so the sun would fall straight on the carpet and the colour of the carpet would fade. Really! She is down in the kitchen. Her heart is where? Her heart is in the carpet. Not even in the carpet—in the colour of the carpet. This is how people live their lives—you don’t know where the heart is. It is all over—in all these antiques, in so many things there is a little bit of heart.

Sri Ramakrishna lived at a time when theatres were very popular in Bengal. Sometimes, Sri Ramakrishna himself used to visit them at the request of his devotees. Many of his devotees were connected with theatres as owners, actors or participants in allied activities. At Dakshineswar, in the company of devotees, the master often talked about theatres and drew many deep spiritual lessons from them. One such lesson was about the “Role of the Wicked”.

Many visitors to Dakshineswar used to ask Sri Ramakrishna about the evils prevailing in the society and the purpose served by them. Some of the devotees were themselves not very pious persons and indulged in all sorts of worldly activities. However, those who continued to live in the company of the Master grew fast and triumphed over their weaknesses. Those who did not, left his company and returned to their old ways. Swamiji was never upset at such happenings and gave full freedom to his devotees to choose their path. He confined himself only to revealing truth. Fortunate ones grasped it while others only laughed. He accepted both the responses with equanimity.

Whenever asked about the role of evil or the wicked, Sri Ramakrishna gave the example of a play on the stage of the theatre. According to him we all are actors on this worldly stage. Like a stage drama, we all play different roles on earth and once the drama is over, we return to our permanent abode. In a drama there are all types of roles. Someone plays the role of a hero and the other plays the role of villain. Both roles are equally important and the success of the drama depends upon both. The drama will lose all its charm if any one of them is absent.

The same is the case with the worldly drama also. Here, all kinds of people are required to make it dynamic and interesting. If we look at evil and wickedness from this viewpoint, all our fear, hatred or complaints against them will disappear. Instead, we shall have harmony with them also. Not only this, when seen this way, we shall find their roles as important as those of good persons.

The day was very tiring for the Ashram community. There was a great deal of work that had to be done for the forthcoming annual Satsangh. ‘Why does God allow suffering?’ asked Dayanand to their guru.

“Creation is God’s Self-expression bound with time and space. God expresses Himself through His creation. God is Love Infinite. Love by its very nature is also creative energy. Hence creativity is an attribute of God. He cannot but be creative at all times. “Pain and suffering are essential parts of creativity that leads to greater joy. The greatest creativity is giving birth to a child. The mother goes through very many difficulties from the time of conception. She also has to go through a great pain and suffering to give birth to the child and to nurture it, and to bring it up. ‘No pain, no gain’ and ‘No resurrection without crucifixion’ are adages with great divine wisdom in them.

“God does not give us pain and suffering. Some of them are part of the reality of life, like the pain associated with child birth. It leads to greater joy. Some are caused by our own ignorance, lust, anger, jealousy, sloth, pride, selfishness, greed etc. Some are reactions to our evil thoughts, words and deeds. Some of them are caused by natural calamities. Once we understand this truth, we can also use our pain and suffering creatively for our individual and collective growth and development. That is what Gandhiji, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and such other great men and women all over the world demonstrated to us. They suffered willingly and consciously for the good of others. This is what every good mother does. Love motivates us to suffer for the beloved. True love, divine love, is forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing”, explained the master to his beloved disciple.

Quite recently, the story of a lady who was miraculously saved, passed through my fading memory. The story was about an old
lady who owned a general store and gas station. Even though the gas station was slightly away from the city, she could make a good fortune. Where all its’ previous owners lost, she won. One day, the store staff closed the front doors and left. As usual, she checked and closed the daybook, counted the bills and left the counter. Before leaving the store through the back door, she got into the cooler room – just to see all soft drinks racks are properly filled and have enough stock. It was then that she heard a ‘clink’ sound from behind – the cooler room door got closed. She neither had the key nor the mobile and it was impossible for anyone to open that heavy door from inside. Minutes rolled on and nothing happened. She yelled aloud but nobody heard her. She was sure to die in it and it was then that she saw a man opening the door from outside, and peeping his head into it. She was saved.

You will be surprised to hear why a man came into this store at so critical a time. This is another story. This grocery was
adjacent to a bread shop run by an old Spanish man, to whom she used to give a very special Good morning and a Good night every day. She did not simply wave her hands and go, just as others do. She used to look into his eyes quite affectionately as if a daughter looks at her father and trying to say something and then give a wide smile along with a ‘Hey, how are you?’ Same was her Good night in the evening too. And that day, the old man did not see her even after 15 minutes of her usual leaving time. He looked out. Her car was there and the store was closed. The old man could not resist going into the store to verify what happened. He called her from out side, but nobody answered. He entered the store through the back door and checked all the store….. nobody was there.

He grew curious and decided to check the cooler room too. That was what exactly happened. The old man said, “You are special! It is your special smile that could fetch a good business for you and also save you from death.”

“Thank you Dad,” she said, with the same brand smile on her shivering lips. She continued,

“I knew that just three seconds with anyone could make a difference. No one has ever left this store without my special three seconds. In the first second I will look into my customer’s eyes; in the next second I will tell him that you are dear to me and my business; in the third second I give a very pretty smile of thanks for being into my life.

‘All of us will become old and will need the help of others to take care of us. Those of us who are fortunate will have our near and dear ones to take care of us. Those who are rich can afford to employ people to take care of them. But the poor often have none of these blessings. We as responsible and grateful citizens of India need to take loving care of the old and helpless citizens of India, especially our farmers who worked hard to feed us and the nation. We need to take care of them with love and gratitude during their old age…‘Government servants in India earn monthly salaries many times more than the monthly income of our farmers who feed the nation with their own sweat and hard work. The government servants are also paid pensions till their death. They and their families enjoy many perks and privileges. The farmers’ families enjoy none of these…‘My son, this agenda is only indicative.
If you sincerely work to implement this agenda, you will be able to build a great new India of peace, prosperity and power. Begin with self, begin today and begin small. But, begin. Motivate others also to begin…….‘The common minimum agenda may change according to the needs and conditions of the people and places. What is important is to have a common minimum agenda based on the needs of the last and the least. True development of a nation is to be measured not based on the GDP as we do today, but it should be measured by the living conditions of the last and least in the country….‘Making Laws and Rules in Parliament and Assemblies by themselves cannot solve the national problems. Governments and political parties alone cannot build a great new India. Every citizen has a responsibility to work to implement those laws and rules, and to collaborate with the Government and other agencies involved in the nation-building mission….’
‘Study well this socio-economic development agenda. Give focus on Gandhiji’s vision of ‘Gram Swaraj’ and also study his constructive programmes for nation-building. He was able to involve all patriotic Indians in the mission of nation-building through his constructive programmes….‘Nation-building means national involvement. All citizens of the nation should be able to become partners in a great nation-building mission..’The Baba concluded.

A good citizen is someone who respects others and their property, is helpful and considerate, willing to put others first. He listens to the views of others and thinks about what they have to say, helps people who are not in a position to help themselves, respects the environment and does not damage it in anyway. He works hard, is well mannered and pleasant and is always willing to learn. We are used to living under laws and patterns that are dictated to us by society but just following those patterns does not make us good citizens. To be a good person, one has to be full of values, principles, ethics etc.
An important aspect of being a good citizen is to help people. All around us, we can see there are people in need of our help. We should lend our helping hand not only to poor people but also pregnant women, old and sick people. Our small actions can make a big difference. If you have been blessed with a sound mind and body, it is your responsibility to look out for children, the aged, the disabled and those who are down on their luck and help them.
Another important thing for a good citizen is to have an active participation in his community. We can do this in a lot of ways. When elections come we must exercise our voting right and vote for the most deserving candidate. We should also participate in neighbourhood meetings for deciding about the maintenance of the streets and other matters and put forth our point of view. Be proactive and take initiative when you see problems in your community. One good citizen can be an enormous force.
Respect the people who live around us. We should remember that other people have similar rights like we do. Respect is one of the most important bases when living in a society. We all have freedom, but it is restricted to a certain point. We cannot consider a killer or a thief good citizens as they have violated that restriction. Volunteer to do good deeds such as tutoring at schools, visiting nursing homes, working at elections, helping disaster relief agencies, donating to hospitals or cleaning up a park or nature preserve.
If you live in an area where neighbours do not know each other, start a new tradition. Have a block party or a get-together. Get to know the names of your postman, garbage pick-up workers and show an interest in people you meet on a regular basis. As adults, we also have obligations to contribute to the society and make our corner of the world a little better.

I am closing this book with this lesson. Many years ago, I read a book titled Who Needs God? written by Harold Kushner, the author of a famous book called When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Since then I have been contemplating over the subject deeply, but frankly speaking, the true concept of God is still not clear to me. I think that it is a mystery for most. Everyone has his own perception of God and proceeds from there. Perhaps, God is not comprehensible for mortals like us. All my contemplation has led me to believe that there is a higher being like God whom we need sometime or the other. Even those who deny the existence of God think of Him, though in a different form.
I shall try to give an answer to the question ‘Who Needs God?’ and for this I quote a portion of the introduction from the book which goes like this: “I deal with bright, successful people, people I genuinely like and admire, and I sense that something is missing in their lives. There is a lack of rootedness, a sense of having to figure things out by themselves because the past cannot be trusted as their guide. Their celebrations, from their children’s birthday parties to a daughter’s wedding to a business milestone, can be lots of fun but rarely soar to the level of joy. And as they grow older, I suspect they either confront or actively hide from confronting the thought that ‘there must be more to life than this. “There is a spiritual vacuum at the centre of their lives, and their lives betray this lack of an organising vision, a sense of “this is who I am and what my life is fundamentally about.” Some look for that centre in their work, and are disappointed when corporations choose not to repay the loyalty they demanded or when retirement leaves them, feeling useless. Some try to it in their families, and don’t understand why they are so hurt when adolescent children insist, ‘Let me lead my own life!’ and adult children move to another state and call every other Sunday. And for some reason, it never occurs to them to ask, ‘How did previous generations find meaning in their lives?
‘For almost thirty years, I have tried to show my congregants how much more fulfilled they would be if they made room for their religious tradition in their lives. I have urged them to do it, not to make God happy but to make themselves happy. I have told them the Hassidic story of the man who got a telegram telling him that a relative had died and left him some valuable property. He was to contact the rabbi for details. Excited, he went to the rabbi, only to be told that the relative was Moses and the valuable property was the Jewish religious tradition. And much of the time, they reacted as I suspect the man in the story did, disappointed that their legacy was religious wisdom and not downtown real estate. “This book is the product of those years of thinking and teaching on the issue of what we lose when we become too intellectual or too modern to make room for religion in our lives. It is about what has happened to the souls of modern men and women under the impact of modern life, what we have lost in the process of gaining personal freedom and material comfort. But more than that, it is the summary of what my own life has been about, what has gotten me through bad times and taught me how to celebrate the good times, how I have learned to recognise the extraordinary things that even the most ordinary lives contain. “The thesis of this book is that there is a kind of nourishment our souls crave, even as our bodies need the right foods, sunshine, and exercise. Without that spiritual nourishment, our souls remain stunted and undeveloped. In the physical realm, we understand that our ancestors’ hard physical work built muscles and burned off calories, but today we are the victims of a modern lifestyle, so we need to diet, to jog, to work out at the gym. So, too, the kind of spiritual communion our forebears knew is less accessible to us because the world is so noisy and full of distractions, because we are so dazzled by our power and success, because religion in the late twentieth century is often badly packaged or presented by people we cannot trust or admire.” I feel that this extract is enough to convey my message. We all have some vacuum in our lives, howsoever fulfilled we may feel. It is only God who can fill this vacuum and make our lives meaningful. It is a different matter that some of us may fail to see or pretend not to see the vacuum, but all of us do need God.

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber’s blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in an aerial combat at the age of 29. But his home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.